sector - CCS (Leeds)

programmers developed the Entanet Partner Site, an
incredibly informative and functionally rich online
portal that enables them to place and track orders,
view reports, monitor usage, view commission
information and more.” Farnden continues, citing
Entanet’s ability to set up white-label services for
retailers and resellers.
For retailers, Entanet may just be the one stop
shop they’ve been looking for. As part of the Enta
Group, Entanet has access to a well configured
distribution channel meaning retailers can not only
strengthen their distributor ties but dip their toes
into the ISP business.
The provider
Eddie Chapman is the director of Upstream
Internet, a small broadband ISP which slugs it out
against the established providers such as Demon
Internet, Claranet and Nildram. On the face of it,
Chapman is fighting a seemingly impossible battle
but this network guru realises that you needn’t fight
fire with fire.
Chapman’s company specialises in providing
‘Bonded ADSL’. Through the use of software
developed by Chapman himself, you can combine
two or more ADSL connections to get increased
speeds. Chapman sees this as Upstream’s edge
over its competitors and says that his company “Is
The broadband
market is like the
rest of the technology
market; as long as ‘free’
ISPs continue to cut
corners with service
there will be demand for
something
better.
the only provider which specialises in Bonded
DSL, we optimise and design everything at our
end around this.”
Surprisingly when asked if big providers such as
BT or Sky are bad for the industry, Chapman was
philosophical. “I wouldn’t say they are bad for the
industry. They target the mass market but there will
always be people who look for an alternative to the
mass produced product.”
Chapman too believes that service and not price
is the key to surviving in this industry. “People
usually start out shopping around on price, and
eventually after they have been burnt a few times
they start looking for better service”. Clearly using
sites like Broadbandchoices.co.uk will enable
customers not to get their fingers burnt.
While Upstream Internet is a growing business,
Chapman realises that at one point his company
will need to consider adding features to the
service”it offers. "We have managed to work out a
way to actually make money with broadband alone.
However the profits aren't huge, and I'm sure if we
want to improve our bottom line value added
services will play a more important role in the
future.”
There's no doubt that the broadband market is a
fiercely competitive industry. The weapon of choice
is price cutting but as users realise that you get
what you pay for, their attention will sway towards
features, customer service and reliability.
SECTOR GUIDE
BROADBAND
THE TRUTH ABOUT VOIP
Over the past two years, voice over IP or VoIP has
become the killer application for broadband in
business. Much like email revolutionising post for
business correspondence, VoIP affords companies
who already have broadband Internet access, the
ability to absorb the cost of making calls.
Generally VoIP is split into two main services.
Free services such as Skype allow you to call other
users using your computer are extremely popular.
However, for business use commercial services are
available.
These services typically offer a service level
agreement (SLA) so businesses can truly replace
their landline without reliability worries. Providers
such as Entanet wholesale commercial services to
smaller ISPs who can then tailor the product for
their specific demographic.
For the channel VoIP means sales of ‘soft’
phones; ones that connect to the PC, ‘hard’
phones which operate independently of a
computer and supporting software.
Complex VoIP PBX systems are also gaining
traction in the commercial world and retailers
should take note of this growing sector as
companies are replacing their old phone banks
with a single computer.
VoIP is revolutionising the way computers are
used for real-time communications. As users exploit
the advantages of this technology, it’s important
that the channel does too.
The broadband market is no different from the
rest of the technology market in this respect and as
long as ‘free’ ISPs continue to cut corners with
service there will be demand for something better.
Retailers should see broadband providers as an
introduction service for their brand. With
companies such as Entanet allowing retailers to
become ISPs themselves and make use of their
extensive distribution capabilities, there’s little
excuse for retailers not to explore this opportunity
for growth.
www.pcretailmag.com PCRetail August 33